Giant container ships make big impact on port development ..PX: OOCL Shenzhen, currently the world's largest container ship, may soon be superceded by even bigger vessels.

(From Business Times (Malaysia))

AS CONTAINER ships get bigger and demand deeper channels, longer berths and cranes with higher and longer outreach, ports, which are often not consulted, are faced with the difficult task of whether to respond to the changing market requirements by investing huge amounts of money, or face extinction.

This reality is now dawning on Malaysian ports as they vie for a place in the international port system by aspiring to become a transhipment hub.

It was a historic moment at Port Klang on June 26 2003 when the world's largest container ship, the 8063-TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) capacity OOCL Shenzhen, made its maiden call.

The maiden call to Northport by the giant vessel belonging to the Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) made Port Klang the first port east of the Suez and …